Rat race follows Daytona 500 win

Television appearances, including a spot on David Letterman, and coast-to-coast travel have made life crazy for the normally understated Hoosier.

As fun and exciting as it all has been, Newman is ready to get back to normal today at California.

'It was fun, but it was a lot of work,' Newman said. 'For me, it was my first time to have such a big honor – as far as representing NASCAR and the 50th

running of the Daytona 500, so it's something that I put a lot of emphasis on trying to do a good job.'

On top of everything else, Newman began getting sick Sunday.

'I never said the first thing, but I knew as the week went on that it was getting worse,' he said. '(Now) I sound a lot worse than I feel.'

Over the week, Newman said he had received 150 text messages, 30-40 phone calls and approximately 100 e-mails of congratulations.

'That's all the friends that I've got,' he said.

AT LEAST ONE MORE:

The best friend Newman had last week was teammate Kurt Busch, who also has had a whirlwind week and a polishing of his reputation.

'It was a great week and I know that I'm not as tired as Ryan Newman is, with all the post-race excitement that happens with a Daytona 500 victory,' Busch said. 'But it was great to have a small, little part in that and to be able to pull together a Penske one-two finish. It's a dream come true.

'To go to work for the guy is the first part of the dream, and then secondly to go and help him win Daytona. It means a lot to me. It means a lot to the team. We're excited about the way our season started.'

The next step is to follow through on the great start.

'I hope that we can carry the Daytona success everywhere we go,' Busch said. 'Finishing one-two is special and I know the few times at Roush when I finished one-two, the team was just on Cloud 9. Everybody is pumped up about what happened and the next week leading up to the race, it just seems like your job goes easier.'

NOT SO EASY:

One person in the Dodge camp not having an easy time right now is Robby Gordon, who was penalized for having an unapproved nose on the car in pre-qualifying inspection. It was a big hit – 100 points, $100,000 and a six-race suspension for crew chief Frank Kerr.

Gordon said he wasn't surprised about the penalty and plans to appeal, but he was surprised at the severity.

'I hate to lose any points, but I was kind of content with, ‘OK, well I guess if we get 25, that will drop us to 16

th

in the championship and we can probably deal with that,' ' he said. 'One hundred could be life-threatening for our race team.'

TOGETHER AGAIN:

Finally.

At last.

It's about time.

Hallelujah.

American open-wheel racing is one entity.

The big question is, is it too late for the masses to care?

Yes, the hard-core open-wheel fans, who have followed both series through all the frustration and acrimony, are delighted. But most of the come-lately race fans have gone straight to NASCAR, as have many of the drivers, during the last 12 years.

It also remains to be seen how the schedule will shake out and how many teams will join the IndyCar Series or fold altogether.

But for now, it's just great they're all going to be together. I can't wait for the Indianapolis 500.

NO. 1 TIMES 2:

Springfield's Tim Wilkerson is having a great start to the NHRA Funny Car season, earning No. 1 qualifying spots for the first two races,

Unfortunately, that didn't translate to a good result two weeks ago at Pomona, Calif., where Wilkerson lost in the first round to Gary Densham.